Category Archives: Gotta Sleep

I’m back from the land of the living dead. That was one mean cold that knocked me out for 2 straight days. Happy to report that I’m feeling much better. 🙂

I went on a girl’s retreat a few weeks ago with my mom and family. To say we had a great time is an understatement. You see, my mom’s family is a unique bunch. They make you laugh so hard that your abs hurt. I think they were all born with the funny bone.

L-RMom, Cindy, Me, Madison, Abby, Margaret, Betty

Let’s recap the trip shall we…

Who went:

Betty

Cindy {Betty’s Daughter}

Madison {Cindy’s Daughter}

Abby {Madison’s friend}

Margaret

Helene {My mom}

Me 🙂

Where did we go: Blowing Rock & Boone, NC

Why: Why not? 😉

We started the trip with lunch at Dan’l Boone Inn. I was starving hence no picture. The food was delicious. The restaurant is located in downtown Boone, and they serve each meal family style (aka no ordering from a menu). Everyone pays the same price and gets a wide variety of meats, sides, and dessert. My favorite was the Country Style Steak. Mmm!

My outfit for the day — less than stylish.

Afterwards, we went to Hawks Nest for some snow tubing Hawks Nest is a snow tubing only facility located in Seven Devils, NC. After a twisty ride up the mountain we made it … along with everyone else. It was a packed house!

Hawks Nest

It was FREEZING on top of that mountain!

Packed House!

I decided to skip the snow tubing in favor of hanging out with Betty in the lodge. We had the best time talking and chatting. At the end of the conversation she said, “This better not end up on that blog of yours!” 😉

Tons of tubers!

Margaret, Mom, Cindy {Post Tubing}

Mom and I took a quick trip into Boone. She really wanted to drop by the Mast General Store. I can always count on mom for some afternoon fun. We played in the toy section longer than any two adults should. 😉

Dinner time! Outback Steakhouse — always delicious — always consistent. Not to mention it was a hop, skip, and a jump from the hotel. At dinner we all dug into our plates while chatting about whatever came up.

One topic of interest was cruising. Some of the family had cruised together before. Others had cruised separate They all discussed cruising together. As plans and excitement mounted, Margaret exclaimed, “Let’s go on a singles cruise!” *silence* .. followed by uncontrollable laughter.

A little later .. this conversation surfaced:

Betty: Jennifer have you ever considered bartering.

Me: Maybe. Why?

Betty: I was watching this show about these men who barter for goods and services. They bought 35 chickens and then bartered them for ……

Me: *digging into steak and missing the middle part of the story*

Betty: ….then they bartered for a car and then an RV.

Me: They bought a car with some chickens?! *uncontrollable laughter*

Day 1 had come to an end. Day 2 was full of shopping in Blowing Rock.

It was a beautiful cold day! Our first stop was this adorable quaint shop. I loved the decor! Very shabby chic.